NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF GAY AND LESBIAN SCIENTISTS AND TECHNICAL PROFESSIONALS (NOGLSTP) PARTNERS WITH MENTORNET® TO PROVIDE ON-LINE MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES

IBM provides lead funding to NOGLSTP for launch of mentoring partnership

(PASADENA, CA) – The National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP) announced today that it has partnered with MentorNet, the E-Mentoring Network for Diversity in Engineering and Science, to provide on-line mentoring opportunities for its gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) students in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. January is recognized as National Mentoring Month. The NOGLSTP-MentorNet partnership provides NOGLSTP with a national e-mentoring network
that unites academic, corporate, and scientific and technical professional society mentors with GLBT undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and early career faculty through
MentorNet’s award-winning One-on-One Mentoring Programs. To participate, protégés must be registered members of NOGLSTP, or another qualified MentorNet partnering organization/campus, while volunteer mentors have educational or professional backgrounds in
engineering or science. There is no additional charge for participation in MentorNet’s programs.

Rochelle Diamond, NOGLSTP Chair comments, “This new program offering will greatly assist GLBT students as they transition from the academic environment to the corporate world or further their academic careers. In addition to offering traditional one-on-one mentoring, the NOGLSTPMentorNet partnership will help NOGLSTP protégés to answer questions unique to the careerbound scientific and high technology GLBT community such as, ‘If/when should I come out in an interview? Which companies have strong GLBT policies? Are GLBT employee resources groups helpful?’ We are very excited about our partnership with MentorNet, as their existing on-line mentoring programs offer comprehensive services to women and minorities in science and
engineering. We believe that expanding these mentoring programs to the GLBT community is timely and will be of great service.”
“MentorNet has always been a source of support for GLBT students and professionals in engineering and related sciences, and we are very pleased to be able to partner with NOGLSTP to increase the outreach to and diversity of those who benefit from MentorNet’s One-on-One
mentoring relationships” says Carol B. Muller, Ph.D., MentorNet’s CEO and Founder.

As the lead corporate donor of the new NOGLSTP partnership with MentorNet, IBM® joined the program as a Founding Sponsor. Founding Sponsors donate $10,000 or more to the mentoring program. IBM® is a recognized leader in workplace diversity and GLBT issues, with 46 GLBTspecific employee resource groups worldwide. IBM is also a MentorNet Strategic Partner.

About NOGLSTP
Founded in 1980, The National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization headquartered in Pasadena, California. NOGLSTP educates people in the scientific and lay communities on GLBT issues in the scientific and technical workplace. As an affiliate of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), NOGLSTP has presented numerous educational symposia on the impact of GLBT issues in scientific research. For more information, visit www.noglstp.org.

About MentorNet – www.MentorNet.net
MentorNet, headquartered in San José, California, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization working to further the progress of women and others underrepresented in scientific and technical fields through the use of a dynamic, technology-supported mentoring network. MentorNet aims to advance individuals and society, and enhance engineering
and related sciences, by promoting a diversified, expanded and talented global workforce. In partnership with colleges and universities, corporations, government labs and agencies, and professional societies, MentorNet is international in scope, serving students and professionals from all over the world. MentorNet was recognized in 2001 with the (U.S.) Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. Major funding is provided by the National Science Foundation, Alcoa Foundation, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM Corporation, Symantec, and Texas Instruments.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. HRD-0541853 and SBE-0549084. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

NOGLSTP is:

a professional society that educates and advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students and professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics